‘It’s tragic’: Coroner to investigate death of homeless man in Montreal public square

The coroner’s office will open an investigation into a 55-year-old homeless man found dead Sunday morning in a public square in Montreal’s Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.

Police say hypothermia may have been the cause of death for the man, who was found unconscious in Place Simon-Valois on Ontario Street.

The man was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

“It’s tragic,” said Fiona Crossling, the executive director at Accueil Bonneau. “I’m very worried for what the rest of the winter is going to be like. But unless we get building social housing fast, with support works, it’s not gonna get better.

“In every case where it’s hypothermia, it’s preventable.”

The coroner’s office confirmed to CityNews coroner Dr. Edgar Nassif is tasked with identifying the deceased, and determining the causes and circumstances surrounding the death.

“If he deems it appropriate, he may also make recommendations, which are preventive measures aimed at protecting human life and avoiding deaths in similar circumstances,” spokesperson Jake Lamotta Granato told CityNews in an email.

Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough mayor Pierre Lessard-Blais called the death “an avoidable and sadly predictable tragedy,” adding that it demonstrates the need for a national plan to combat homelessness.

In a social media post, Lessard-Blais wrote Sunday that Quebec Premier François Legault and the minister responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, maintain that “things are getting better and better, that the worst of the crisis is over, that we are making progress.”

But the borough mayor believes that Sunday morning’s death is “a tragic reminder of reality.” Lessard-Blais wrote that “without a rapid and concrete intervention by the health network to open shelters, there will be more deaths on the street, in the cold, fires, tragedies.”

“The City of Montreal is ready,” added Robert Beaudry, the Montreal executive committee member responsible for homelessness. “We already gave some options to the Government of Quebec to open warming shelters quickly. But we need an answer. I mean, there’s been an agreement of $15 million. It’s been signed with the federal government. We need this money to come on the field now.”

“Montrealers, we wish that our Premier, François Legault, would be as interested in people that sleep in the street, [as he is about] people that pray in the street,” said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante at a press conference on December 16.

On Monday, Montreal organizations announced a housing trust to support those who are having trouble staying housed because of financial difficulties.

–With files from La Presse Canadienne and Erin Seize, CityNews Montreal